Climb Stairs For Cancer Awareness

What burns twice as many calories as running and offers a more complete body workout? Climbing stairs.

Many are finding the challenge of a stair climb race to be more exhilarating than a typical run, and it’s rising in popularity as a competitive sport around the world—it’s even in the Olympics.

What to give it a try? Nonprofits are jumping on board to take advantage of this growing trend for fundraisers. As a result, there are stair climb events popping up all over the place that not only offer a great fitness challenge, but also let you give back to a great cause. Among them are many that nonprofits dedicating to fighting against cancer.

Here are a few of the most popular and most interesting:

Fight for Air ClimbIf you’re looking for an opportunity close to home, the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Climb takes place at locations all over the country. Hosted in skyscrapers, stadiums, and arenas, Fight for Air Climb events raised over $7 million last year for health education, research and advocacy for lung-related diseased, including lung cancer.

Outclimb Cancer ChallengeHuntsman Cancer Foundation organizes Salt Lake City’s annual Outclimb Cancer Challenge at the 24-story Wells Fargo Center. A great event for both competitive climbers and beginners, this event lets you scale the event to your fitness level by letting you decide how many stories to climb (and how many times you want to reach the top!).

Big Climb Seattle – Climb. Conquer. Cure.The Big Climb Seattle event for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is an extremely popular one—the 2015 event sold out in just nine hours! It takes place at the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle, which boasts status as the second tallest building west of the Mississippi.

Stair Climbing Australia Race SeriesIf you want to get adventurous, consider the Stair Climbing Australia Race Series. These races for competitive stair climbers will take you all over the country, with challenges like climbing 100 flights of stairs at the Sydney Tower Eye and the Sea to Sky Challenge at Australia’s tallest building. Each race supports a good cause, including cancer.

Hustle up the HancockThis race up Chicago’s iconic Hancock Building, known for its stellar views of the city’s skyline, offers a great incentive to hurry up all 94 floors. But if that’s just too many steps for you, there is also a half-climb option that stops at the 52nd floor. Each step helps support research and education to fight against lung disease via the Respiratory Health Association, including lung cancer. At the 2015 event, participants collectively climbed an estimated 1.5 million steps.

Step Up for a Good CauseAre you ready to step up to the challenge of a stair climb for cancer? It’s a sport that’s on the rise, and a challenging alternative to the usual fundraiser run that’s sure to whip you into shape. To get started, check out these training tips. Then, get climbing!

With stair climbing’s rising popularity, odds are there’s one near you. But if not, consider starting your own.